Unknown evils
by AstonSilver
Summary: It's a bad idea to insult Merlin in front of the Knights. But what happens when Arthur changes due to this?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I don't know where this really came from. I was just...casually watching videos on YouTube and then this idea happened and...damn I hate these moods sometimes.**

 **At any rate, I hope you enjoy.**

Everyone in Camelot knew just how bad an idea it was to insult Merlin around the Knights. Everyone, it seems, except for Arthur.

There was an informal training session going on, and Merlin had to admit he was exhausted. His sleep had been fractured recently due to nightmares that he couldn't make heads or tails of, so all he really wanted was to be dismissed for the day so he could try to actually rest.

But he refused to complain, because he knew it could be much worse.

However, when he stumbled while Arthur was having him try to hold up a shield and let him practice as warm up, Arthur stopped swinging and gave the servant an unamused look. "Honestly, Merlin, could you be any more useless?"

It was far from the first time this jab had been thrown, and honestly, he knew Arthur meant no harm by it, so he didn't deign it with a response.

However, as fate would have it, the knights had just arrived and heard and before Merlin could brush it off with an easy smile, Gwaine had spoken up.

"What did you just call him?"

Merlin felt the color drain from his face when he saw just how unhappy the knights were with their King.

Arthur, however, seemed not to notice what could be very really danger. In fact, he repeated exactly what he'd said and Merlin almost wanted to do everyone wanting him dead a favor, just so that the world didn't have to suffer due to the sheer stupidity Arthur seemed to possess in this moment.

Just before Gwaine could speak, though, Merlin spoke up, giving him a look. "It's fine, Gwaine. No harm done,"

It didn't make them happier, but it made sure no fight broke out, and that was enough.

Over the next few weeks, Arthur seemed to realize that maybe he had made a mistake, insulting the servant in front of his knights so often. Now that he was paying attention, his knights all seemed taken with Merlin. He had a natural wit, as much as Arthur was loathe to admit it.

Still, he couldn't understand why they'd reacted so poorly this last time. They'd heard him throw jabs at Merlin and laughed, even joined in, before. So what had changed?

Then a thought struck him. Could Merlin _believe_ all those jabs to be true?

He decided to ask around about it, and found he didn't like the answer.

He couldn't very well bring it up with Merlin, though. So instead, he started slowly trying to undo some of the damage those jabs had caused.

It took a while before Merlin realized what was going on, and when he did, the first thing he did was ask the knights if they'd said something.

Percival had given him a smile as he answered. "He asked, we couldn't very well lie to him, could we?"

Merlin looked extremely annoyed by this, but he said nothing.

"I take it he's been trying to make up for it?" Leon asked curiously.

Merlin nodded. "He has. It's...strange. I have to admit, I prefer him calling me names and being a completely prat. At least then, we could talk without him trying to avoid saying something out of fear of upsetting me,"

Luckily for him, this was overheard by the King himself, and as of that day, things slowly went back to normal, though Arthur still had moments where he'd make sure that Merlin knew he was only kidding around.

Merlin, for what it was worth, chose to ignore these few moments and throw back his normal insults, allowing them to continue about as normal.

 **There. I wasn't sure how to write this, but I had to. The idea wasn't going to leave me alone until I did.**

 **If you have anything you'd like for me to write...let me know, I guess.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Sky.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Alright. I had...originally not planned to write another chapter for this. But as it stands, I believe it was called for this time.  
**

 **To those who reviewed:**

 **jasminingram12: I'm glad you do!**

 **AnotherWorld3111: Wow...that's...the longest review I've ever gotten, I believe. I'm glad you seem to enjoy the story! Thank you so much for your constructive criticism, it was gladly received. I'll admit that I was content to get through with the previous chapter, as it was late for me when I wrote and posted it - the idea simply wouldn't leave me alone until I'd wrote it. And I know what you mean, I've seen stories where such a plot was drug out for a while, and while it was amazing I grew tired after a few chapters. I'm more for writing short fics for Merlin, otherwise I lose interest in them too quickly, as some of my previous ones have demonstrated.**

 **Also, after re-reading the previous chapter, there are a few mistakes that I made, but I am far too lazy to try to correct them all. Kindly look over those, if you would.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Ever since Merlin first came to Camelot and became Arthur's servant, he'd been subject to jokes from not only the Prince, but the knights as well. It was obvious to him that they were just that - jokes. But considering everything, he could help but take some of what they said to heart.

He didn't let it affect him outwardly, instead keeping his sarcastic remarks going easily, allowing himself to feel happy whenever he would exchange words with any of them.

But every time, it never failed, as soon as he was alone in his room, he let the happiness fade and thought about all the remarks, trying to see if there was any truth in the words.

Several months into his service for Arthur and he had started to take these jests to heart, not allowing anyone to see the pain it caused him, instead preferring to throw a remark of his own back jokingly and continue about his business.

People came and went, and Merlin kept his masks up tight most of the time. He knew that his emotions had broke through a few times, usually in front of a knight, but never the prince. And so, by the time that Gwaine had joined their ranks as a knight, Merlin was startled to find that they'd shifted to where they didn't joke about him as much.

It didn't dissuade the prince's remarks, but everyone else noticed the shift - it was slowly becoming abundantly clear that Merlin was under the Knights' protection and insults towards him would not be tolerated very well.

Merlin was one of the last to realize this shift, and eventually had to ask about it while they were waiting on Arthur one morning for a training session.

Leon had been the one to answer his question about the change. "It's hard not to see the pain it's caused when you let your masks fall, Merlin," he offered. "You believe it all, don't you?"

Merlin found himself without words to argue the point for a change. He looked away from them for a moment before he shrugged. "I've believed worse than anything any of you could say of me." he countered after a bit of thought.

Percival clapped Merlin on the shoulder with an easy smile, and Elyan found himself speaking. "We never meant to cause you any pain, for you to believe our jokes. You're a wonderful friend, Merlin, and I can barely believe that someone could say something bad about you and mean it,"

Merlin smiled faintly, nodding his thanks just as Arthur arrived, effectively stopping the conversation.

But it didn't mean that Merlin stopped believing the jokes thrown at him. Some of the Knights still threw light-hearted jests around to try to get him to smile and get involved, and while he had a time believing they were correct, he still had the doubt hiding in his mind.

It took time, but eventually the Knights stopped throwing jests at him at all, instead focusing on making sure any damage they had potentially caused was minimal.

Arthur continued, but Merlin had accepted that would never change, and he felt he could deal with it coming from one person.

And whether he believed it or not didn't truly matter to Merlin because he'd be damned before he'd mention the pain some of the comments caused him.

After all, all that had really changed about Merlin since his first week in Camelot was the strength of his masks and how well he could act like nothing in the entire world was wrong when he felt like he was falling to pieces inside.

* * *

 **I can officially say I did my best to write this. Sorry for any mistakes.  
**

 **-Sky**


End file.
